Plea agreement reached in animal cruelty case

The Harrison County couple charged with cruelty to animals after an animal rescue group lodged a complaint, have reached a plea agreement in Harrison District Court.

Haskel and Dinah Risner changed their pleas to guilty for the multiple misdemeanor cruelty charges on Feb. 4.

As part of the agreement, the couple agree to 90 days of unsupervised probation on the condition that they have no horses on their farm during the probationary period. They are to pay $100 in fines plus court costs and restitution amounting to $326.19 to Speak Up For Horses, and $81 to Hagyard Veterinary Services. The Risners are also to have no similar offenses.

Shortly after their arrest, Dinah defended her and her husband's actions saying that they bought horses that were in poor condition from the Paris Horse and Mule Sale then brought them back to a good healthy weight.

According to the Kentucky State Police, there were eight animals in question.